He came home 0.67 of a second faster over the last five furlongs than they managed in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes over half a mile shorter. Ernest Hemingway was still moving strongly at the finish and looked capable of running faster. Indeed he earned a rating of 40 from me when breaking the course record in last year’s renewal of the same race.

The main difficulty Ernest Hemingway faces in Europe is the slow ground which so often prevails. He simply must have it fast.

To date Ernest Hemingway has won four of the five times he’s run on polytrack or on turf when the word ‘firm’ has appeared in the official going description. His sole loss was a good second in fast time to a Japanese Group 1 winner. Seeing that he’s won around the tight turns of Dundalk and showed he can handle a sprint finish here, I would like to see Ernest Hemingway take up his entry in the American St Leger. He’ll probably get his ground and would be the horse to beat.